#smverse

“Woah,” Gareth leaned forward from the backseat. “What the hell?”

“The whole mall…” Eddie muttered as he watched as the fire department struggled to contain the blaze.

The flashing lights of emergency vehicles glittered as more and more arrived on the scene and Eddie put the van in park so they could sit there and watch. They were too stunned to leave.

It felt like too momentous an occasion not to witness it.

After a few minutes Eddie noticed a car parked a few spots down from his. A beat up Mercury Marquis with a familiar face inside.

The Claire’s Store Manager.

You.

He’d seen you around the mall a ton of times, seen you at TapeWorld a ton of times. You were always stopping in for one reason or another, to get tapes for the store radio, to do your own shopping. At first, he thought you would be mean like all the popular girls but once he got to see you a little more, work alongside you, he started to see that you weren’t all that bad. You even smiled and said hi to him. Him. Eddie Munson.

And maybe he had a little crush on you too.

He’d never gotten the courage to go and talk to you.

But there was no time like the present.

Eddie got out of the van and approached your car. You startled slightly when he knocked on the window, but you got out and rounded to the front of it.

“You ok?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I forgot something at the store and when I got here, it was just…burning.”

“Shit.”

“How about you?” You asked in return.

“My friends and I were just coming to get McDonald’s. Kind of ruins your appetite to see your job burnt down though.”

You let out a cute honk of a laugh, and then sobered up. “Sorry, sorry. It’s not funny.”

“I mean. It is pretty funny. Plenty of people wish for that.”

There was a moments pause before both of you laughed.

You introduced yourself. “I work at Claire’s.”

“I know.” Eddie nodded. “I’m Eddie. I work at TapeWorld.”

“I know,” you parroted. “Not anymore, though, huh?”

“They’re just jobs,” Eddie shrugged.

The two of you stood side by side and watched as the emergency crews worked and lights flashed. Even from this distance you could see them evacuating people from the building.

Some evacuees ran at each other and hugged one another before they were herded towards ambulances.

“I know that guy,” you pointed to a figure wearing the signature Scoops Ahoy uniform, hugging someone tightly. “He comes and buys strawberry lipgloss to look cute for his crush who works over at Waldenbooks.”

Eddie squinted, and laughed. Because he was pretty sure that was Steve Harrington. And from the looks of it, he was getting those strawberry lips smooched by Miss Waldenbooks.

Others were carried out of the smoldering shell of the mall, clearly dead.

“I’ve never seen a dead body before,” you whispered.

“Not even at a funeral?”

“Funeral yeah but not…” You trailed off. “Fresh.”

“Me either.” He noticed that you were getting a little teary eyed. He took a step closer, slipped his hand into yours and squeezed. You squeezed back tightly and rested your head against him. “It’ll be ok. It…this kind of shit just happens in Hawkins.”

“Does it?” You snorted.

“More than you’d think.”

You simply hummed.

There were a few more beats of silence before you said, “hey Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“I…I dunno.” You looked down at your feet. “For coming over here. For checking on me.”

“What are friends for?” There was a brief moment of a shared smile. Eddie cleared his throat. “Uh, unless you wanted to stand here all night, you’re welcome to join me and the guys for ice cream. If McDonalds hasn’t burned down, that is.”

You ducked your head to try and hide the way your smile grew, “That would be nice.”

“Lemme check with the guys.” Eddie thumbed over his shoulder with his free hand and you let go of his other one and gestured for him to go. “Be right back.”

He walked backwards for a second, keeping his eyes on you, taking all of you in, and then finally turned and jogged back to the van.

As soon as the door was open, all three of his friends were miming kissing with their arms wrapped around themselves.

“Oh Eddie,” Jeff said in falsetto. “I love you.”

“You’re so dreamy,” Dave added.

“How could I ever have survived the fire without you?”

“Knock it off.” Eddie growled. “Or I’ll knock you out. I need you three on your best behavior. She’s coming with us for ice cream.”

The other three boys all froze and zipped their lips.

“Don’t screw this up for me,” he pointed at all of them. “Or else.”

"Barely," Eddie grumbled from his spot in the driver's seat.

"You're not helping," you scoffed at him.

You were all piled into the van, staring at the brightly-lit entrance to StarCourt Mall as though it was the gate to hell.

As a matter of fact, it might as well have been. There was already a line of grouchy, cold customers gathered outside the entrance to the mall, and each time a group of employees approached to be let in by mall security, they started shouting and getting restless, as though the doors were about to open for them instead of the poor souls that would inevitably be the targets of their shitty behavior.

After a year of being open, the excitement around the new and shiny StarCourt Mall had faded. Now it was just The Mall, much like every new shopping center became after the novelty wore off. People still shopped, of course they did, but mall management seemed to like the hype that had surrounded StarCourt upon their grand opening.

So they came up with a gimmick that got them on the news and in the papers and had all of the residents of Roane County talking: Extended Holiday Hours.

In fact, not just any extended hours.

The mall would be open for 24 Hours on Black Friday.

Actually, it wouldn't just be open. It was a whole event.

There would be gift certificates for the first 100 customers who entered the mall, raffles and giveaways, free snacks and hot cocoa available all day, and all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Santa's long-awaited arrival to Roane County as his workshop opened for families to snap their perfect holiday pictures.

Gag.

Although you were well-versed in retail with a store of your own--that you'd volunteered to work the whole 24 hours with a sneaky nap in the stock room slipped in--Eddie had only experienced one Black Friday, as a mid-shift. And Jeff, Gareth, and Dave? This would be their first holiday season in retail, let alone a crazy gimmick on the biggest shopping day of the year.

So the Gates of Hell? Yeah, they were actually looking pretty tame compared to StarCourt Mall.

As if sensing your sudden and uncharacteristic trepidation, Eddie sat a little straighter and took on a look of determination.

"Alright," he rallied as the clock on the dashboard clicked closer to midnight. "Are we gonna sit in here and freeze to death as we wait in fear? Or are we gonna go in there and try our best? Because those paychecks are gonna look pretty nice if we survive.

"So what do you guys say?"

He turned back to his younger friends, eyebrows raised expectantly.

They all glanced at each other before they all shouted for Eddie to start the van and drive them all home.

"Unbelievable," he grumbled and yanked his keys from the ignition so he could climb out of the van himself.

You and the others followed suit and you walked towards the entrance together, in solidarity, before splitting off to your respective stores once you were in.

StarCourt's 24-Hour Black Friday Blowout was One Day Only.

How bad could it possibly be?

3:15AM Gareth - Hot Dog on a Stick

Gare didn't know how people could be hungry for something from the food court in the middle of the goddamned night when they'd just gorged themselves on Thanksgiving dinner and surely had plenty of leftovers back home.

At least, that was the mindset he had when he agreed to being on the opening shift for Black Friday.

Hot Dog on a Stick hadn't been his first choice for a job; actually, he thought that he'd be a shoe-in for getting rehired at Santa's Workshop, just like he'd done last year for some extra cash. Unfortunately, he'd been a little too late with his application.

"Food Court's always hiring though," his old boss suggested sympathetically.

So Hot Dog on a Stick it was.

He thought the job would be easy, especially the opening shift for Black Friday. He'd had his training shifts and they had gone so well! He figured they'd be like that. 8 hours of eating funnel cake fries and thinking of the perfect gifts for his friends and flirting with his coworker, Annie, until it was time to go home.

Maybe he'd even get the balls to ask her out by the time they clocked out.

He should have known that expectation would definitely not meet reality.

And everything that could go wrong definitely did.

He'd burned the first batch of hot dogs that they'd prepared as they opened for business. He swore he'd only turned to get a glimpse of Annie's perfect profile for just a second as she talked and laughed with their shift lead. Next thing he knew, the fryer was beeping and the oil was bubbling and he was scrambling to get the hot dogs out as quickly as he could before the fire alarms went off.

His rotation at the register wasn't much better.

You know, he was actually pretty good at keeping track of things in DnD. Jeff was the more superior note-taker, but Gareth was actually the one who caught all of the little intricacies that Jeff seemed to miss.

Taking orders from people was an entirely different story, though. He couldn't seem to press the right buttons on the cash register, and if he did and he got lucky, he forgot to charge them for something else. The line of customers just got longer and longer, and angrier and angrier, and his shift lead kept coming over to fix his mistakes.

He was about to scream when he felt Annie's hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't I take over for you," she smiled sympathetically. "I'm pretty good on the register. If you want to just focus on getting everyone's orders together?"

He swallowed his frustration, nodded dumbly, and listened to the suggestion.

The longer he kept his head down and focused on the task at hand, the more dejected he felt. This job was chaotic and fast-paced and unlike anything he'd ever done in his life. There were so many eyes on him and he kept messing up. It had only been 3 hours and somehow he felt like he never wanted to come back again.

Soon, it was time for him to take his lunch. He was already so sick of the smell of food that he skipped his own lovingly-packed leftovers in favor of walking around the mall. As he dodged wayward customers shuffling from one store to the next, laden with shopping bags, he contemplated ripping his stupid hat off his head and quitting.

Money or no money, he didn't care; his shift lead could take his stupid job and shove it.

When he returned to the food court, though, he saw something that made him change his mind.

Annie was in the back, sitting on an overturned milk crate, with her head in her hands as she cried quietly.

"Hey," he said, trying not to startle her. "You ok?"

"No!" she wailed and looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with fire, but they softened as they landed on Gareth. "No. Some lady called me stupid because I wouldn't accept her dumb StarCourt Black Friday coupon. It even said 'excludes food court' on it, and she refused. Then when I refused to get a manager to give her a discount, she squirted me with mustard and said '"'the customer is always right.'"

Lo and behold, the front of her multicolor uniform was stained with splotches of yellow mustard.

"What a bitch," Gareth swore.

"Yeah," she sniffed. "What a bitch."

The two of them stared at each other for a second before they laughed and shared more of their woes with each other.

Gareth quickly realized that as bad as he had it at this shitty job, his coworkers had it just as bad, if not worse. And it would all be ok, because they had each other to complain to and make faces at.

So he might quit, one day. Maybe even tomorrow. But it certainly wouldn't be today.

6:00AM Dave - Spencer's Gifts

"Where do you think you're going, David?"

Dave froze at the voice behind him as he crept closer and closer to the front of the store. He turned and found himself under the unsettling--and quite frankly creepy--gaze of his boss, Henry Creel.

"Uh," he fidgeted. "Hey Henry. What's up? You need me on register?"

He knew that Henry most certainly did not need him on register, and he fidgeted under that intense stare as Henry folded his arms over his chest and waited for Dave to fess up to...whatever it was that he was up to.

See, Dave wasn't as stupid as he was making himself out to be here; actually, he was pretty clever. But he was the worst when it came to confrontation.

Expectation.

Or possibly a simple case of indecision.

This whole thing started because he needed a job. Who didn't? But given the way you and Eddie and Gareth went on and on about working at the mall, he'd been enticed into applying at almost every store at StarCourt.

Spencer's had been his dream, short of rock star or sex symbol or Geddy Lee's muse. How could it not be? The lewd t-shirts and the gag gifts. Of course, with a manager like Henry, he thought that he'd bombed the interview.

That's why when Mr. Newby had called and offered him a seasonal position at Radio Shack, he'd said yes immediately.

Dave had been ecstatic. He already liked the jovial, older man. He was not only friendly to his customers but he was friendly to his employees too. Dave really felt like he was part of the family when he'd gone into orientation.

So why was he currently at Spencer's?

Because after he'd hung up the phone with Bob, Henry had called to offer him another seasonal position.

His dream job at StarCourt.

What could he possibly do but accept the job? Accept both jobs. Especially when Bob was so nice to him, and Henry was so off-putting.

Dave figured...he was done with school, there wouldn't be anything wrong with having two jobs and juggling both schedules and band practice and DnD. That should've been the end of it.

He'd gone to orientations and training shifts. He got shiny plastic name tags and keys to the locked cases and quickly made friends with his coworkers. Everything was going swimmingly.

Until his Black Friday shifts overlapped entirely.

He tried to bring it up to both of his managers but every time he tried to open his mouth and say something, he lost his nerve.

In the end he figured if he was smart about it, he could work both shifts simultaneously.

And he had been smart about it. Radio Shack and Spencer's were almost right across from each other in the same wing at StarCourt. With the massive crowds of customers to take advantage of, plus some well-planned breaks and lunches, and some over-staffing for the big day, he could sneak across the hall every so often and no one would know any better.

He switched his name tags and his keyring, dedicating his left pocket to Radio Shack and his right pocket to Spencer's.

And it had been working.

Until now.

He and Henry stared at each other, as if waiting for the other to break, but Dave had never been good at staring contests and Henry seemed like he never needed to blink. Dave's eyes watered and his resolve wavered as his fear of confrontation got the best of him.

"Alright," Dave threw his hands over his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do it, I just couldn't tell you that I had a job at Radioshack or Bob that I had another job here. I didn't want to let either of you down. And I know I should just pick one store, but I like both jobs and I...I don't know...I don't know! I'm sorry!"

He hung his head in shame and waited for the older man to yell at him or tell him that he was fired or to get lost. He wouldn't even blame Henry if he turned him around and gave him a swift kick in the ass.

Instead, his boss crossed the distance and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know, you could've just told me about the situation with your other job," Henry told him earnestly.

"Seriously?" Dave asked, dumbstruck.

"I'm not gonna fire you because you have a second job," Henry snorted. "There's nothing wrong with that. Joey works weekends at Bradley's too, and I work with him to make sure he isn't overworking himself as much as I can. I know I can be a little...intense sometimes, but I'm your manager, not a villain."

Dave forced himself to laugh along with his boss.

"I'll let you have an extra fifteen if you want to go and explain the situation to Bob. And you can decide which store you want to finish off the rest of your shift at."

"Alright. Thanks Henry."

Henry clapped him on the shoulder and then nodded towards RadioShack.

Dave thanked him again and then started to walk away, when he paused and turned back to Henry.

"Hey, uh, how'd you find out?" Dave asked. "That I was sneaking out of the store?"

"Well," Henry took a breath and folded his arms over his chest. "It took some serious observation skills, some detective work on my part. You honestly did a good job of sneaking back and forth in my opinion. I didn't realize it until five minutes ago when you made one fatal mistake."

"Seriously? What did I do wrong?"

Henry took a step forward and flicked a finger against Dave's chest.

"You're still wearing your Radio Shack name tag."

9:05AM Jeff - Sam Goody

Jeff was a pretty easy going guy, if he could say so himself.

He was funny, he was level-headed, he was attentive and a good friend, and he could get his friends out of a pinch if and when they needed him. And since he started this job, he found out that he was a pretty damn good employee too!

But today, of all days, he had a problem.

"Hey Jeffy," his coworker, Gina, snickered over the headset. "Your stalker is back."

And that problem was named Edward J. Munson.

"I think he's hiding behind the dump bins of discount cassettes Jeff, if you wanna deal with that?" His manager chimed in, causing Jeff to groan and abandon his spot in the back of the store.

Jeff couldn't exactly say that he blamed Eddie, really.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Eddie was the reason they were both in this predicament in the first place.

Jeff had just wanted a job, just like everyone else, and he figured it would be really cool if he could work at Tape World alongside Eddie. It was a job that revolved around music, and over the course of the last year or so, Jeff had really witnessed Eddie develop another layer of confidence in himself, especially after losing it all the first two times he failed to graduate.

Now look at him, he was a keyholder at a job he was really good at, he finally graduated high school, and he had a girlfriend? He had really come into his own.

Jeff felt like it was his turn now.

Especially as he put any serious college plans on hold so they could focus on the band once Gareth graduated in June. Sure, he took a few classes at the tri-county community college and even had a job at the book store on campus. But music was his passion, just like Eddie's. So a job at Tape World made the most sense.

Only Eddie had said no.

Actually, he blamed you. Said you told him not to help his friends get a job once-upon-a-time, because that just put a strain on friendships.

And Jeff could understand how you'd come to that conclusion; shit, they had enough creative differences with Corroded Coffin sometimes.

So Jeff turned to the next-best option: Sam Goody.

Because there wasn't just one music store in the mall. There were two. Just because he couldn't work at Tape World didn't mean that he couldn't work at any music store.

But that had been a little too much for Eddie to stomach, apparently.

"Traitor!" he had wailed when Jeff excitedly broke the news to him. He'd fallen to his knees and clutched his chest as though his heart was about to burst. "How could you do this to me? To us. Didn't you learn your lesson when we watched the Godfather? Never go against the family Fredo!"

"It's just a job Eddie," Jeff argued as he nudged his friend where he was dramatically lying prone on the ground. "I'm not a traitor. I'm not going against the family."

No matter how much Jeff tried to defend himself, though, Eddie couldn't seem to get over the hurdle. Especially not today of all days, where he crept down the hall to sneak into Sam Goody and spy on Jeff every chance he got.

Breaks, trips to the loading dock to take out garbage, he even brought you along when you guys went on lunch together. He tried to be as stealthy as he could, ducking behind displays or holding a magazine over his face, but the whole Sam Goody staff recognized Eddie after the first two hours of the day. And after a good 9 hours of endless greetings and sales spiels and customer interactions, Jeff was starting to lose his mind, hallucinating Eddies all around the store. If someone wore a denim vest or leather jacket or a pair of brown eyes stared at him through a video display, well that must be Eddie.

Now his shift was almost over, enough was enough, and Eddie needed a swift talking to so that Jeff didn't have to put up with this nonsense for the rest of his life.

Or, at the very least, until his boss got sick of Eddie's antics and fired him.

Jeff circumnavigated the store so that he could sneak behind Eddie, and when he found the older boy crouched behind a cardboard standee of Cyndi Lauper, he lifted his foot and kicked Eddie right in the ass.

"Fah...rts," Eddie caught himself before he swore in front of a group of kids. He turned and glared at Jeff. "Farts, Jeffrey. What the hell was that for?"

"Why are you playing Mission: Impossible in my store, Ed?" Jeff questioned in response.

"I think you answered your own question there," Eddie sniffed haughtily. "Mission: Impossible. Reconnaissance. Scoping out the competition. Someone has to do it, especially since someone decided to turn to the dark side."

"I didn't turn to the dark side!" Jeff threw his hands in the air. "I'm not a traitor, I didn't betray our friendship, because I work at a rival store that you do."

"No but that's exactly what it is. I wouldn't help you get a job at Tape World, so you decided you'd break my heart by working for my nemesis."

"I don't think Sam Goody is your nemesis, Eddie," Jeff snorted.

"It's commercial," Eddie argued. "It's mainstream. It's--"

"It's a job," Jeff interjected. "I make $3.50 per hour and I get one free tape per month if I work more than 20 hours. It's fun here, I like my coworkers. I like the job. And I'm sure I would've liked it if I worked at Tape World with you too."

"You could've had fun selling candles at Wicks and Sticks!"

Jeff felt a pang in his chest, and although he could see the pain in Eddie's eyes, he needed to put his own feelings first. For once.

"I wanted to work someplace I enjoyed." He shrugged dejectedly. "You're always telling us to follow our hearts. So I did. And if that means that I'm a traitor...that I'm your nemesis now...I guess that's exactly what I am. And you don't need to worry about driving your nemesis home from work Ed. Have a great day."

He turned on his heel to head back towards his section to finish off his shift, heart plummeting into his ass as he realized that this nonsense probably cost him his closest friend.

But a hand clamped on his arm and stopped him before he got much further.

Jeff turned back and raised a questioning brow at Eddie.

"Can I help you find anything today sir?" he asked.

Eddie's mouth opened and closed a few times as he found the right words, face scrunched with, what Jeff knew was, self-loathing. Finally, he spoke.

"I thought," he paused for a moment to lick his lips. "I thought you took this job because you were mad at me for not getting you a job at Tape World. I hadn't realized it was because you actually wanted to...to work at a store like this."

"Damn Ed, are you the only one who can suggest music to people?" Jeff snarked.

"Considering I have the correct taste in music, yes," Eddie responded without missing a beat. But his expression got soft again. "But I'll let you tell people to listen to...I dunno Bon Jovi or whatever it is you guys sell here. As long as you're having fun doing it."

"I am," Jeff nodded, and then smiled widely. "I really like working here Eddie."

"Good."

"Good."

"Alright then," Eddie cleared his throat and clapped a hand on Jeff's shoulder. "We're good then."

"Yeah."

"Then I only need to come and spy to make sure they're treating you well."

"No more spying Eddie!" Jeff laughed.

"Fine!" Eddie groaned and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "No more spying."

2:35 PM Eddie - Tape World

Eddie was exhausted.

He hadn't expected to work a double, but he seemed to draw the short straw when Paulie showed up for his shift and promptly puked all over the front of the store.

Lucky bastard, getting some kind of food poisoning from Thanksgiving dinner.

Honestly, Eddie would rather be sick in bed instead of surrounded by screaming customers and all of the new hires that were now his responsibility to corral around the god damned store.

"Why me?" he whined to Kyle as his boss stood in front of the bathroom mirror and fixed the novelty turkey hat on his head.

"Because I don't want to," Kyle snorted.

"It's good to be the king, isn't it," Eddie swatted the turkey off Kyle's head, earning a groan from the older man. "Come on, I'm already picking up Paulie's shift, have Mitch babysit the new kids. I'll do all the returns. Every customer complaint. For the rest of my shift."

"You," Kyle poked a finger into Eddie's chest, "constantly refer to yourself as a shepherd with your little sheepies. I'm just adding to your flock. It's a bunch of kids from the high school. You need to work on your leadership skills if you wanna promote to ASM one day. This is how you get there.

"Just preach the good word about metal to them and do a few headbangs to hypnotize them, and then have them work on alphabetizing tapes. Easy squeezy."

And God Bless Kyle, because as good of a boss as he was to Eddie and the rest of the team--the older brother they never realized they wanted or needed--he was honestly a liar and an asshole.

Keeping an eye on the new hires was not easy or squeezy.

Eddie seriously didn't think that he had as bad of a time last year when he was new. But he guessed that last year he had a few months of experience under his belt before black friday. These kids were fresh.

A poindexter-type kid named Lawrence--not to be referred to as Larry by any means--who actually complained about how loud the music was inside of the store before he wandered off on his own and Eddie couldn't be bothered with him.

A blue-haired punk girl with a mohawk who dared to call him a freak and criticize him for his t-shirt. He hadn't even needed to tell her to go and organize the tapes, she took the initiative herself after she called the store a pig stye.

Eddie had to respect that.

Lastly, there was the one...

The only...

Mike fucking Wheeler.

"What? How did you get a job here Wheeler?" Eddie scoffed and crossed his arms. "I even told Jeff that he couldn't work here. Conflict of interest. No working with friends."

"Who said?" Mike whined.

"Mom says," Eddie emphasized the kids nickname for you.

"Bullshit. Besides, I'm already hired, and I'm here now. So you're just gonna have to deal with it."

Eddie grit his teeth as Mike grinned smugly.

"Kyle!!!!" He shouted across the store for his boss.

There was no way he was going to work with Mike Wheeler.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what he had to do.

And speaking of shepherd and sheep, that's exactly what Eddie and Mike looked like. Eddie went to help a customer and Mike trailed right behind him. Eddie labeled markdowns, Mike was labeling them too. Eddie suggested Metallica to a customer, Mike would interject with his favorite Metallica album to them.

The album which happened to also be Eddie's favorite as well.

It was honestly getting a bit annoying.

"He probably misses you," you offered when Eddie jogged upstairs to see how you were faring on the second leg of your own lengthy shift. "He looks up to you. And Dustin does too. And Lucas. They all do. This is probably a treat to hang out with you since you graduated. Be nice to him."

Eddie leaned closer to mutter in your ear, "He's waiting outside right now sweetheart."

"Ok," you sighed. "That's a little weird. Send him off on his own break. Give him a task of his own. Show him how to use the register. He doesn't need to follow you helplessly; you're letting him do it."

Eddie tried.

He absolutely did.

Mike was hopeless though.

Register training went about as badly as it could on Black Friday, with several buttons jamming and the cash drawer getting stuck in the open position.

Eddie even tried to get Mike to sweep, and Mike took it upon himself to actually mop the floors. Mop. On black friday. With a store full of customers.

Yeah, that was a disaster.

And Eddie could feel his blood pressure skyrocketing.

All while Kyle oversaw the whole store and laughed at every mishap.

Thankfully, the end of his shift was imminent, and he would be free of Mike Wheeler. At least until the next shift they had together.

"Maybe I'll have a stroke before then," he sighed and headed to the stock room to get his things so he could go and pass out back home.

Only to find Mike sitting at the little desk waiting for him.

"You did good today, Wheeler," he sighed and beelined for the little locker that held his things. He at least tried to put a little bit of a positive attitude on for Mike. It was his first day, after all. "It'll all get easier next time, you'll see. Just like learning to ride a bike."

"Uh," Mike scratched the back of his neck and shuffled back and forth. "I don't think I'll be coming back."

Eddie froze and stared at the younger boy.

"What?"

"Yeah, I...I just don't think I'm cut out for a job like this," he shrugged. "You make it look so easy."

"Practice. It takes practice," Eddie insisted. "What did I just say? Learning to ride a bike. You've gotta fall off a few times first. Scrape your knees and all that shit."

"Well, I think I'm in intensive care with the number of times I fell off today," Mike let out a self-deprecating laugh. "So I think it's time to return the bike. I'll tell Kyle when I leave."

"No you're not gonna tell Kyle shit," Eddie demanded. "Because you're not quitting. Come on Mike, I've seen you face the craziest monsters I could throw at a player in DnD and not blink an eye. You've got bravery, you've got guts. What is this?"

"This is different Eddie. I'm brave when I have my friends around," Mike sighed. "When I'm alone, I'm worthless."

And oh, Eddie Munson's heart--which was, admittedly, pretty big to begin with--grew three sizes at that.

Maybe you were right, that he was just being a grouch because Mike was a little snot-nosed punk. But Mike was one of his snot-nosed punks, and he wasn't gonna let one of his friends think that they were going through it alone.

Because he had thought he'd been alone so many times, and all he had to do was look past his own nose to see that there were plenty of people there to rally for him.

He took a breath and crouched down so he could look Mike in the eye.

"Hey kid, you're not alone here," he began gently. "I wouldn't have told you that you did a good job today if I didn't mean it. And it might seem like you're alone here because it's a new and scary experience. But you're not alone. You have me. And I'll be here to lead you through until you can face the scary world that is StarCourt on your own. You hear me?"

Mike's eyes darted back and forth between Eddie's before his face broke into a wide smile.

"Thanks Eddie," he cheered.

"Don't mention it."

"I'll do my best, I promise," Mike insisted. "I won't let you down, and...and..."

"I said don't mention it," Eddie stood straight and ruffled Mike's hair, then nodded towards the door. "You better go clock out and head home. I'm sure your mom has a turkey sandwich waiting for you at home."

Mike scurried out of the stockroom and Eddie turned back to his locker, and when he closed it, Kyle was suddenly there, grinning like the cheshire cat.

"Look at you, developing those leadership skills," he told Eddie proudly.

"I fucking hate you," Eddie snarked at him, then sighed. In that moment, he realized that this was a passing the torch sort of moment. Kyle had passed it to him when he gave Eddie a chance, and now Eddie was passing that torch to Mike by giving him the chance. He wouldn't fuck it up.

"Thanks Kyle."

November 28, 1986 Claire's - 12:10AM

You were dead by the time you and the closing team trudged out of StarCourt.

The mall itself looked like something out of a horror movie. The lights were off. It was practically abandoned and trash was everywhere. The mall muzak was shut off and there was the sound of a distant store radio that was still on somewhere, playing a haunting, off-tune saxophone.

But you survived. You and your team and countless other teams survived the epic StarCourt 24 Hour Blowout and you, thankfully, would be working the mid-shift tomorrow so you could sleep in.

You all exited the mall and into the employee lot, and you waved goodbye to your team as you approached the van that waited where Eddie had parked it almost a whole day prior.

"You better have gone home and actually gotten some rest," you announced as you threw open the passenger door to the familiar sight of Eddie and a bag of McDonalds, while Beth softly played on the stereo.

You pulled the van door shut behind you as Eddie sung along and then leaned across the console to drop a sleepy smooch of both greeting and gratitude on his lips.

"I did after I finished my double," Eddie said after a few soft kisses. "How are you doing?"

"I'm hoping that this fucking spectacle doesn't become a tradition," you announced and gestured towards the mall before you dug into the bag of food. "I don't think I can do another twenty-four-hour Black Friday again."

Eddie took in the sight of you, looking even more worse for wear than you had last Black Friday during a normal 8-hour shift.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say," he chuckled. "Gotta do something more than once if you wanna consider it a tradition."

"And is this our tradition now?" you asked.

"What? One of us has a rough Black Friday shift and the other feeds them."

"No," you snorted. "McDonalds and KISS when you pick me up from work?"

Eddie contemplated it for a moment, "you know what, it's not the worst tradition to have. What do you think?"

You sighed and sunk into the passenger's seat as you chomped away on hot, salty fries. You knew that you wanted to ask him about his day, and about the rest of the band and how their shifts went, but for now...